1. Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph.
The beginning of the play takes place in the Westside of Los Angeles. It centers around Brenda and what happened during her past. It's basically a retelling of her early years in the Westside of L.A. It talks about how at a young age everything is innocent and pure, but as you mature, everything isn't so innocent and pure. The other characters involved were Aunti Mary, Kali, Smoke, and Brenda's family.
2. What is the intrusion?
I believe the intrusion of the play was Brenda going to high school. This is due to the fact that she became separated from the other people from the West Side. This not only caused a shift between Brenda and Kali, but also a shift between herself and the other Westsiders. This was also when the audience realised Brenda was in classes that made her feel smart while the Westsiders were in classes that made them feel unintelligent. It creates a divide between Brenda and the people she grew-up with. The fact that Brenda is not in the same classes as the other Westsiders was one of the subtle shifts that creates a distance between Brenda and the other Westsiders.
3. What is the unique factor?
The unique factor was that this was the day that the narrator tells the story of her past and her relationships that were created.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
The dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play is "How will the relationship between Brenda and Kali change as they mature."
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
The first kind of exposition was the narrator explaining who each person who was. This is because the narrator already knows what is going to happen and how it happens. The narrator is retelling her past life, so it would make sense that the narrator would know more than the audience at the moment. The second kind of exposition would be when the audience finds out information about a situation as the characters talk. For example, when Brenda was asking Kali about his classes, the audience was able to figure out that he and the other Westsiders were in classes that made them feel unintelligent. The audience also learns about Kali working late nights which causes him to fall asleep in his classes.
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
The most theatrical moment in the play was the ending fight scene. This was when Kali and his gang were fighting Smoke and his gang. Smoke was trying to kill Kali because he ratted Smoke out to the DEA. This scene was very action packed with a twist at the end. It was as if I was standing in Mary's garden watching the scene unfold. This scene is probably my favorite scene as well. This is because it has a lot of imagery to a point where I could see the events play out. I was also on edge when it was getting close to the end of the play. I didn't know what was going to happen; however, I know I wasn't expecting Dreamer to kill Kali and Mary.
7. List some of the themes of the play.
Some themes of the play include: You're always connected to your first love, Betrayal runs deep, and Family comes first.
8. What do the narrator want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of her getting what she wants?
In the beginning of the play the narrator wanted to date Kali. Some of the obstacles that would stand in her way was mainly how she felt about herself. She had asthma, eczema, and she felt fat. This lowers her self-confidence but it didn't stop her from getting to know and spending time with him. As the story progressed the narrator wanted to do more with her life, so she went to college. Some of the obstacles that stood in her way was the thought of leaving her family behind to fend for themselves. She felt so guilty that he started to feel miserable in college. I didn't help that the narrator also felt out of place.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
Some possible images in the play would be when the narrator is describing the first day of high school. The narrator gives great detail about what happened that day. She also describes the how they get to the school. This helps the reader know how far the school is from where Brenda is from. For example, the narrator said they are bused over a bridge and over a "FLOOD CONTROL" sign. This shows that the school is probably in a better neighborhood than where Brenda is from. The way the title helps us understand the play is that the garden was Aunti Mary's rose garden. This would mean Aunti Mary was the queen to Brenda. Mary was a lady that Brenda was very fond of. According to Brenda, Mary was also the only one that could break up fights and the one people would listen to; similar to a queen. The queen's, or Mary's, garden was where Brenda's relationship with Kali began. It was also where it ended. So the garden was a symbolism for Brenda and Kali's relationship
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
Family relationships can be anything from blood related to non-blood related members. Family relationships was relationships were the people look after their own. For example, even though Smoke and Kali were not blood related, they looked after each other. They had each other's back. Then Kali backstabbed Smoke. That was the ultimate betrayal for Smoke. Another example of Family relationships would be when Kali told Brenda that he was looking out for her family when she wasn't with them. This shows that Kali thought of Brenda's family as his own even if they were not blood related.
The beginning of the play takes place in the Westside of Los Angeles. It centers around Brenda and what happened during her past. It's basically a retelling of her early years in the Westside of L.A. It talks about how at a young age everything is innocent and pure, but as you mature, everything isn't so innocent and pure. The other characters involved were Aunti Mary, Kali, Smoke, and Brenda's family.
2. What is the intrusion?
I believe the intrusion of the play was Brenda going to high school. This is due to the fact that she became separated from the other people from the West Side. This not only caused a shift between Brenda and Kali, but also a shift between herself and the other Westsiders. This was also when the audience realised Brenda was in classes that made her feel smart while the Westsiders were in classes that made them feel unintelligent. It creates a divide between Brenda and the people she grew-up with. The fact that Brenda is not in the same classes as the other Westsiders was one of the subtle shifts that creates a distance between Brenda and the other Westsiders.
3. What is the unique factor?
The unique factor was that this was the day that the narrator tells the story of her past and her relationships that were created.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
The dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play is "How will the relationship between Brenda and Kali change as they mature."
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
The first kind of exposition was the narrator explaining who each person who was. This is because the narrator already knows what is going to happen and how it happens. The narrator is retelling her past life, so it would make sense that the narrator would know more than the audience at the moment.
The second kind of exposition would be when the audience finds out information about a situation as the characters talk. For example, when Brenda was asking Kali about his classes, the audience was able to figure out that he and the other Westsiders were in classes that made them feel unintelligent. The audience also learns about Kali working late nights which causes him to fall asleep in his classes.
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
The most theatrical moment in the play was the ending fight scene. This was when Kali and his gang were fighting Smoke and his gang. Smoke was trying to kill Kali because he ratted Smoke out to the DEA. This scene was very action packed with a twist at the end. It was as if I was standing in Mary's garden watching the scene unfold. This scene is probably my favorite scene as well. This is because it has a lot of imagery to a point where I could see the events play out. I was also on edge when it was getting close to the end of the play. I didn't know what was going to happen; however, I know I wasn't expecting Dreamer to kill Kali and Mary.
7. List some of the themes of the play.
Some themes of the play include: You're always connected to your first love, Betrayal runs deep, and Family comes first.
8. What do the narrator want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of her getting what she wants?
In the beginning of the play the narrator wanted to date Kali. Some of the obstacles that would stand in her way was mainly how she felt about herself. She had asthma, eczema, and she felt fat. This lowers her self-confidence but it didn't stop her from getting to know and spending time with him. As the story progressed the narrator wanted to do more with her life, so she went to college. Some of the obstacles that stood in her way was the thought of leaving her family behind to fend for themselves. She felt so guilty that he started to feel miserable in college. I didn't help that the narrator also felt out of place.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
Some possible images in the play would be when the narrator is describing the first day of high school. The narrator gives great detail about what happened that day. She also describes the how they get to the school. This helps the reader know how far the school is from where Brenda is from. For example, the narrator said they are bused over a bridge and over a "FLOOD CONTROL" sign. This shows that the school is probably in a better neighborhood than where Brenda is from.
The way the title helps us understand the play is that the garden was Aunti Mary's rose garden. This would mean Aunti Mary was the queen to Brenda. Mary was a lady that Brenda was very fond of. According to Brenda, Mary was also the only one that could break up fights and the one people would listen to; similar to a queen. The queen's, or Mary's, garden was where Brenda's relationship with Kali began. It was also where it ended. So the garden was a symbolism for Brenda and Kali's relationship
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
Family relationships can be anything from blood related to non-blood related members. Family relationships was relationships were the people look after their own. For example, even though Smoke and Kali were not blood related, they looked after each other. They had each other's back. Then Kali backstabbed Smoke. That was the ultimate betrayal for Smoke.
Another example of Family relationships would be when Kali told Brenda that he was looking out for her family when she wasn't with them. This shows that Kali thought of Brenda's family as his own even if they were not blood related.